Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Position in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,755,659 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 277,529 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $149,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $199,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 120,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,258,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 217.3% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 7,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Research Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 8,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $87.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.90 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.